The late Don Offermann arrived at Oak Park and River Forest High School in 1964 as an English teacher, later became chair of the English Department, and retired as OPRF superintendent in 1999. After his retirement, he established the Offermann Scholarship for Excellence in English at the OPRFHS Scholarship Foundation. This provides a $1,000 scholarship each year to one graduating senior applicant who plans to major or minor in English in college, and is chosen by members of the English Department.
Each year, Dr. Offermann would attend the spring honors reception to meet and get to know the current recipient. Despite not having an honors reception in 2021 due to the pandemic, Dr. Offermann and his wife, Verna, were able to meet the 2021 recipient of the Offermann Scholarship for Excellence in English, Talib Becktemba-Goss, before he started his freshman year at Northwestern University.
This year, the OPRFHS Scholarship Foundation will open the common application to graduating OPRF seniors, with more than 70 scholarships available, including the Offermann Scholarship for Excellence in English, on Friday, Jan. 7. (The common application will close at 3:30 p.m. on Friday Jan. 28 and student recipients will be notified in mid-March.)
To donate and help the foundation continue Dr. Offermann’s legacy, please visit www.scholarships4oprfhs.org/scholarships. For more information, please contact scholarship manager, Melanie Weiss, at scholarshipsoprfhs@gmail.com.
Melanie Weiss, Oak Park
